After the Fact
by Writer's-BlockDP
Summary: AU version of TUE. Sam, Tucker, and the Fenton family are killed, with the exception of Danny. Now Danny is staying with Lancer, trying to keep his secret, and dealing with his loss. And all the while he feels a darkness slowly overtaking him...
1. Prologue

_Well, I came up with this idea a long time ago, and wrote a good chunk of it, but recently pulled out all of my old (handwritten) work to start typing it, and decided that it needed a major reworking in the process. This is the first multichaptered fic that I've posted in an unbelievably long time. Good news is, I don't believe in letting any stories, good or bad, go unfinished. So this will be completed at some point, I can assure you of that. No guarantees on how frequent updates will be, but hopefully every couple of weeks or so, depending on how much free time I manage to find._

_Summary: Imagine TUE never happened. Clockwork doesn't exist. A freak accident as a result of a fight gone horribly wrong kills Sam, Tucker, and the entire Fenton family, with the exception of Danny. Lancer is one of the first civillians to arrive on the scene, spots Danny, and gets him to the hospital. Now Danny is staying with Lancer while trying to keep his secret safe and deal with the deaths of his loved ones. And all the while he is feeling a darkness slowly overtaking him..._

_Rated: T; pretty much because of character death, mental rants, and contemplation of suicide. Shouldn't be too dark, though it will hopefully be depressing at some point... I'll do my best ;)_

_Spoilers: Definitely some for TUE, though I'm not sure what else will be in here. I'll put warnings at beginnings of chapters if I decide to include any specific references to later 2nd season or any 3rd season episodes._

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With a sigh, Danny Fenton sat back further in his booth at the Nasty Burger. His two best friends, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, carefully scrutinized him from the other side of the table. Sam was the first to break the tense silence. "Danny, what's going on with you lately?"

His head came up, a defensive look already creeping into his brilliant blue eyes as he snapped, a little harsher than intended, "Nothing is going on! There have just been a lot more ghost attacks lately and I'm getting sick and tired of it all." That was part of the truth anyway. The whole truth wasn't something that he was willing to share with his friends at present… he wasn't even sure if he himself had fully accepted the implications of what he was considering doing. But the constant ghost attacks were making it completely impossible to study for the upcoming C.A.T. test, and his parents would kill him if he failed it. Well, his mom would. Jack had failed it himself years ago, so his punishing Danny for doing so would be hypocrisy in its purest form.

"Don't give us that," Sam's voice broke into his muddled thoughts. "This whole week you've been distracted, jumpy, defensive… you don't get like that when it's just an overabundance of ghosts."

"Yeah, man," Tucker cut in. "I beat you in _Revenge of the Zombie Octopi IV_ last night, and that hasn't happened in months. Sam's right, dude, something's wrong, we can tell." Danny barely acknowledged his spoken words, glancing up briefly before staring off into space, clearly no longer paying attention, focused instead on his private thoughts. Tucker started to say something more, but was cut off by the unexpected arrival of Danny's ghost sense.

Giving his two friends a look that said clearly, "See, I'm not just making this up," Danny grumbled a bit and got up from his seat. "Be right back." He rounded the corner to the bathroom, and, after checking to make sure he was truly alone, transformed into his ghost half. Twin rings of light passed over his body, and in another brief flash of light he propelled himself effortlessly through the roof.

The instant Danny emerged into the glaring sunlight of the outside world he was met by a glowing green net wrapping itself tightly around his body. A brief struggle and flash of green energy expanding from his usual shimmering aura quickly dissolved the netting, and a beam of light immediately launched itself from Danny's hand into the net's creator. A large robotic being was pushed backward from the force of the blow but quickly righted himself and fired a beam of his own in return, calling out, "You will not escape me! For I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest—"

"Yeah, yeah," Danny interrupted, throwing a quick punch, "And you want my pelt on your wall, or on the foot of your bed, or something like that. Quit with the long-winded speeches; you're making Technus seem quiet."

Skulker's glowing green eyes narrowed dangerously at the ghost boy. "We'll see who's quiet when I'm through with you." A large cannon emerged from one of his shoulders, its sights set on the teenager. Danny suddenly found himself unable to dodge as the biggest blast yet slammed into his chest, effectively forcing all air out of his lungs and foiling his attempts at concentration as he slammed into the Nasty Burger's roof.

Plaster and bits of roofing shattered beneath the boy at the point of impact. Danny groaned, picking himself back up more slowly than usual, gingerly favoring his left side, which had taken the full brunt of the landing. Just as he was staggering wearily to his feet he was met by another massive blast of energy, this one flinging his limp body into the wall of the next building, where he made a large enough impression in the brick that he actually stuck in place for a few moments before falling onto the rusty fire escape just below. With a groan, the metal structure pulled away from the old building, and he was sent tumbling into the alleyway amidst a crashing and shrieking of metal.

Dazedly, Danny managed to grip his spinning head with one hand as he attempted to lift his body with the other. He forced himself to his feet just as Skulker came into view over the Nasty Burger. His head cleared just enough to manage to dodge out of the way of the next attack, rolling along the ground.

Unfortunately, the surface was covered with shards of metal from the collapsed fire escape, and these sharp pieces decided to rather rudely reintroduce themselves to the boy's skin. Now bleeding from numerous additional small wounds, and barely able to pick himself up in time to avoid hitting yet another wall, Danny mustered his remaining and steadily waning strength just to the point to suddenly whirl and go on the offensive.

Lunging at Skulker, he somehow took the hunter by surprise and released the biggest blast he could muster directly into his opponent's large metal chest. The surprised ghost was blown backward, through not nearly as much as Danny had hoped. The teen was on his hands and knees now, panting with the effort of keeping his ghost form. He was too low on energy; there was no way he would ever get out of this on his own. What had happened to Sam and Tucker?

Skulker was advancing on the boy again now, growling in fury that his quarry had managed to evade him again, for however short a time. Claws appeared on his fingertips as he reached out with a large metal hand and grasped the teen around the neck. Danny gasped desperately for air as the hand tightened and the claws pricked into the sides of his neck, drawing yet more blood. His air supply was nearly completely cut off, and he mentally cursed the fact that he still needed to breathe in ghost form, albeit not as much as he did when human.

His hands scrabbled desperately on the metal hand, trying to get enough of a grip to pry the claw off of his neck. However, Danny's luck simply wasn't that good, and despite his frantic gasps for breath his vision started to fade at the edges. The blackness was beginning to take over, and the boy found himself low on power and completely helpless to stop it.

Just before Danny lost consciousness from lack of oxygen he suddenly was flying through the air again and slamming through the outer wall of the Nasty Burger. He landed heavily inside the restaurant, scattering tables and chairs as the terrified civilians fled the scene. Panting desperately for air, he made no attempt to rise, focusing instead on getting a sufficient amount of oxygen into his deprived lungs.

Skulker blew an even bigger hole in the wall and marched toward the fallen boy, large metal feet leaving small craters in their wake. He had almost reached Danny when a sudden red blast blew him backwards. A triumphant laugh came from the door as a figure clad completely in red stepped forward.

The Red Huntress entered with a confident spring in her step, ignoring the more threatening being in favor of attacking the object of her vengeance. Her gun was aimed directly for Danny's head, charging as she grinned. "Any last words, Ghost?"

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_(hides) Don't kill me! But hey, if you want to kill me, you'd better let me know! Know what the best way to do that is? The pretty button down there that has the word "Review" on it!_

_Seriously, the more reviews I get, the more motivation I have, and the sooner I'll update. :) Please let me know if you think anyone is OOC, or if you notice a plothole, or if there's something that I could be doing better, or even if there's just a little typo somewhere!_


	2. The Fight

_Okay, sorry for the delay. Finals took up WAY more time than they had a right to take, and then I worked 88 hours in a single week at work. I would say that this week has been recovery and I haven't had time to write... but that would be a lie. I've actually had this chapter done for a while, and just have been too lazy to post it. That, and my memory isn't the most reliable thing... anywhosals, here's the next chapter! :)_

* * *

Danny blearily looked up at his sometimes-friend, his mind barely able to comprehend that she had just said something. "Wha-?" His eyes suddenly widened. "Move!"

Valerie merely scoffed. "Nice try, but I know all your tricks, gh-" her response was cut off by him suddenly diving forward and releasing an ectoblast into the girl's stomach. It was a weak blast, barely pushing her back a few yards. She recovered quickly and prepared to destroy the ghost once and for all, only to stumble backwards as an explosion originated in the exact spot where she had been standing mere moments before. Even at this increased distance she was affected, and suddenly found herself surprisingly grateful for the ghost boy accidently pushing her away. After all, there's no way he would ever help her on purpose, the rotton ghost.

When the smoke cleared only a crater remained in the spot where she and the ghost boy had been. Satisfied that her primary quarry was now out of the picture, the huntress turned her attention to the other supernatural being. A feral grin appeared on her face, matched by her opponent's own metallic features. In unison the two fighters leapt for each other, grappling in mid-air for a moment before gravity reclaimed its hold on the girl.

Skulker swiped at her with a glowing blade, which she managed to parry, but he caught her off-guard with a quick punch from his other arm. Stars burst through her vision as she stumbled backward yet again. Hoisting a bazooka-like weapon to her shoulder, Valerie fired into Skulker's chest, sending him flying back in an uncontrolled arc into the kitchen. He hit against a large metal piece of equipment, setting off a chain reaction of toppling machinery.

When the deafening clanging finally died down, Valerie was approaching from the direction of the front counter. She sent another blast in Skulker's direction, but he managed to dodge and return a blast of his own. Valerie ducked quickly, but spun around when she heard a startled yelp from behind her. She spotted the ghost boy in a similar fighting stance to her own, having also just barely avoided the blast. He looked even paler than his usual deathly hue, and his eyes and aura weren't quite glowing as brightly as his norm. Phantom looked weak and tired, and was sporting a good number of fresh injuries, but was back in the fight for the time being.

Valerie mentally kicked herself for ruling him out completely. She had been so focused on the other ghost that she had allowed Phantom to come up from behind her. One of the first rules of ghost hunting was to always keep track of your quarry. The ghost boy, however, was paying hardly any attention to the girl, riveting his attention solely on the other ghost. Skulker didn't look surprised by the boy's reappearance, but jumped right back where he left off in his battle with Phantom.

Indignant that she was suddenly no longer a part of this battle, Valerie looked back and forth between the two ghosts as they exchanged blows, unsure of what she should do now. Phantom, though able to stand against Skulker's attacks, was definitely getting the worst end of the fighting. But he was also her sworn enemy… she had nothing against the other besides the fact that he was attacking her home. Her grudge against Phantom ran deep, and she refused to just give that up so quickly.

As Valerie tried to make up her mind, Danny was desperately trying to weaken Skulker enough to get him into the thermos. He was dangerously low on energy, and if this went on much longer he might be forced to change back in front of Valerie.

Danny charged up blasts in each hand, dismayed at how weak they were. Feinting a bit to the left, he slammed out his right hand with the last bit of energy he was able to muster.

Skulker had fortunately fallen for the fake and was hit by the blast. It wasn't large, but was just enough to propel the hunter back into a large metal piece of equipment with a loud clang. Unfortunately for Danny, Skulker instantly began recovering, but the blast had forced the boy to his knees in exhaustion, scrunching his eyes shut and focusing desperately on maintaining his current form.

Danny's luck managed to hold out, however, as Valerie suddenly made up her mind. Phantom was so exhausted that he would be easy to subdue once this fight was over. This other ghost was the one who was currently the biggest threat, and Valerie grudgingly admitted to herself that she had to put off attacking Phantom in favor of the other.

Red blasts slammed Skulker back into the metal again as soon as he attempted to move. Valerie kept the energy in a near constant stream, driving Skulker back even further into the steel until a large dent had formed and the structure begun to bend back toward the wall.

A hard smirk spread across Valerie's face as the girl continued her attack. Skulker had just begun to resist and was about to retaliate when suddenly a bright blue vortex came from one side. Skulker was sucked screaming within it back to its source. Phantom capped the thermos in his hand, slumping in exhaustion and trying to regain a bit of energy.

Danny never got a chance to regain his strength. He blinked and suddenly Valerie was directly in front of him, gun charging in his face. A black-suited arm came up instinctively to protect his head just as the gun fired, throwing the boy backward. He turned himself intangible just in time to continue his flight through a wall, but was forced to flicker back to reality just as he lost his ghost form. Now fully human, he desperately needed to get out of sight in order to avoid Valerie discovering his identity.

There was a door a few yards away, but it might as well have been a few miles. Danny had just struggled wearily to his feet, swaying slightly, when he heard the whine of Valerie's jetsled. At the moment that the girl would have come around the corner, the door opened and a hand reached out, taking hold of his arm and yanking him out of sight.

* * *

_I'll hopefully be able to keep my lazy butt in gear and post something every couple of weeks or so, but how often I post is directly related to the number of people I know want me to continue._

_So... thoughts? Questions? Pleas? Death threats? Let me know!_


	3. The Race

_Sorry for the wait, I've been surprisingly swamped for the past month. I don't think it'll get any better until summer, but I'll try to keep updates at least semi-regular. After all, what else would I do in class? I'm also writing several oneshots and drabbles because the stupid plotbunnies kept following me and nipping at my heels, so expect regular updates on Breaking the Block as well as in my new collection Alphabet Soup. (shameless plug)_

_All of the parts of this that actually happen in the show are taken directly from it, with exact quotes. I've rewatched parts of it multiple times as I'm writing. No spoilers this chapter (except TUE, obviously)_

_

* * *

_When Danny's eyes began to adjust to the darkness of the storeroom he had suddenly found himself in, he was able to make out a flash of dark hair and pale skin. "Thanks–"

"Shhh!" came a hiss from his rescuer. "She's still out there, do you want her to hear you? We've got to get out of here."

Another tug on the weary boy's arm forced the issue, and he limped behind the dark figure as softly as he could manage. They emerged into the light and he was temporarily blinded, stumbling a bit until another figure slipped under his left arm. One person on each side, they made their way to a small secluded alley about half a block away from the crumbling Nasty Burger.

"Thanks guys," Danny breathed to his friends, leaning against the old brick façade and sliding his back downward until he was sitting on the torn-up pavement. He dropped his head back against the brick, wincing a bit and tenderly poking at a forming lump on the back of his skull.

Sam was instantly concerned, gesturing for Danny to lean forward enough for her to take a look and assess the damage. Prodding fingers gently explored the area, the boy flinching slightly away and hissing a bit through his teeth as the throbbing behind his eyes intensified with the movement.

Sam pulled her hand back after just a moment or two. "Not bleeding, probably not a concussion, but you'll be sore for a bit." Her callous tone was betrayed only by the worry still apparent in her eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Danny sighed, exasperated with the question. "Yes, Sam, I'm fine. Ghostly healing abilities, remember? What's with you guys suddenly always asking that?"

"You've been acting funny lately, man," Tucker chimed in.

"Yeah… you've been really… distracted," Sam mused.

Danny persisted, "Guys, seriously, there've just been a lot of ghosts lately."

"Then why were you so distracted during that fight with Skulker?" Sam worriedly snapped back. "If you were being distracted by the _ghosts_ then you would be paying attention during a _ghost_ fight!"

"And Skulker just handed your butt to you. You'd be a pelt on his wall by now if Valerie hadn't shown up," Tucker added, ever helpful.

Danny aimed a tired half-hearted glare in his friend's direction before allowing his eyes to drift closed with a sigh.

"Danny…" Sam's voice softened, "I really don't want to fight like this. I just wish you would let us into your life again. The three of us used to know everything about each other, remember?"

The boy at least had the decency to look guilty and somewhat ashamed of himself. His eyes opened and locked with each of his friends' in turn. "I know, and I do. Sorry guys; I'll have to work on that. It's harder now than it used to be… our lives are so much more complicated than before. I promise I'll try harder to let you guys in."

Tucker grinned at his best friend. "Good to hear. Now… Mega Movie Marathon at Sam's?"

Sam shot a fake-irritated glare at him. "Sure, invite everybody over to my house without asking me first…" A mischievous smile flashed across her face. "No ghost powers, race you there!" She was already to the end of the alley by the time the last word passed her lips.

The two boys instantly clamored to their feet, Danny fighting off a wave of dizziness in favor of taking off just behind Tucker. Three sets of feet pounded on the pavement, three gasping sets of breath as the teens sprinted down the street.

Sam laughed, a lilting melody that betrayed her dark exterior. "Come on, Danny, even Tucker's not that slow!"

Tucker glared at her as his lungs threatened to rebel, putting on a slight burst of speed. "Hey, I resent that!"

Danny suddenly got a devious idea. He winced overdramatically, purposely stumbling a bit to add to the sympathy. "Head injury, remember?" He had to fight back a smirk as she fell for it.

Sam slowed slightly, shooting him a worried glance. "Are you okay? Should we stop?"

"Nah, I'll live. Especially since I'm going to win!" His sudden surge of speed was completely unexpected, and he sprinted past Sam just as they arrived at her block.

"Hey! No fair!" She whirled back around and took off after him, determination glinting in her eyes.

She quickly pulled even with him, but both were firm in their desire to win. Their steps moved in sync with one another as they pounded down the sidewalk. As they were nearing the front steps of Sam's house, she began to pull ever-so-slightly ahead. Danny refused to let her win, so he took a flying leap in her direction, tackling her into a heap on her front lawn. The two friends grappled for a moment, but he had the weight advantage and quickly pinned her.

They stayed in that position, gasping for breath, even as Tucker finally arrived, gasping for breath. "Whoa, I knew you guys were fast, but this is just ridiculous!"

His friends quickly disentangled themselves and clambered to their feet, blushes spreading across their cheeks. Sam broke the suddenly awkward silence by taking off again, running the final five feet to her front steps and sticking out her tongue at Danny. "I win."

"Aw, come on, the race was over," Danny protested.

Sam grinned. "Who said that? It's not over 'till there's a winner." At Danny's conciliatory groan her grin only grew, and she practically bounced through the front door.

"You know," Tucker commented, "You're going to ruin your Goth image if you keep acting all happy like this."

Sam merely scoffed at him as she led the way to the basement. "As if I care. What do you want to watch first?"

The familiar debate over movies brought a contented smile to Danny's face despite the steady pounding of his head. He chimed in whenever he actually had a strong opinion, but otherwise happily relaxed into Sam's sofa. He leaned back with a blissful sigh, hoping inwardly that no ghosts would show up to spoil this night, and otherwise settling easily into the habits of old friendship.

* * *

Danny yawned loudly into his hand as he flopped down into his seat in the school auditorium. Sam and Tucker, on either side of him, cast worried looks in his direction but said nothing. He had been unusually snappy and jumpy lately, probably primarily due to the sudden increase in ghost attacks.

Sam had talked to him on the phone the previous night at around eleven, and he was still traipsing after the ghosts that had somehow escaped earlier in the evening. His friends had helped until they had to leave in order to make it home before their curfews.

Danny himself was in a ton of trouble when he finally got home, but had no choice but to quietly accept his punishment. He couldn't just let the ghosts overrun the town, but it wasn't like he could tell his parents what he had been doing. Sometimes a vague thought played out at the edge of his consciousness, urging him to tell them everything, but it was always quickly pushed aside. There was no way he wanted to put them through all that confusion, not if he didn't have to.

The assembly began, and Lancer started his usual droning monologue. "Your future is not carved in stone, people. But it may be carved with a number two pencil."

Sam and Tucker each slouched further into their seats with an exasperated, "Oh, please," but Danny quickly shushed them.

"Quiet! This is important!"

His two friends exchanged a look, but Danny was too busy trying to stay awake and hear Lancer that he didn't notice their questioning glances.

Lancer continued, completely unaware of the exchange among his students. "As most of you have probably forgotten, you will be taking the career aptitude test on Saturday. Do well, like Ms. Fenton here," he gestured to Danny's sister Jazz as Danny spoke along with his next statement, clearly annoyed, "who got _the highest score in the history of the CAT_, and a successful future will be assured. Fail, like Irving 'Third-Degree' Burns here, who got the lowest score in the history of the CAT, and you will be doomed to a career at the Nasty Burger." Lancer's distaste for both the fast food restaurant and its employee was evident in his tone.

Irving quickly protested, "Hey, working at Nasty Burger takes brains, you know. If those 42 nasty secret herbs and spices in our nasty sauce are overheated, it could cause an explosion that would take out an entire city block!" His words went unheeded by the student body, who stared disinterestedly back, clearly not believing a word of it. The man sighed and trudged off the stage. "Oh, who am I kidding? My life is over."

Lancer opened his briefcase and deposited a pale manila envelope within. "These aren't just the answers to the test. They're the answers to your future. So study!" He slammed the briefcase closed with a sharp click, immediately locking a set of handcuffs around both it and his left wrist. He leaned forward to the microphone once more, admonishing dryly, "Remember, it's your future. Do you want fries with it?"

As the balding man made his way off the stage, Tucker turned to Danny, who looked completely zoned out. "Dude, you okay? Danny?"

The exhausted teen shook his head slightly, eyes clearing. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. I just don't know what I'm going to do about this test. There's no way I'll have time to study if the ghosts keep escaping at this rate."

Sam laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It'll be fine, Danny. You'll see. We'll always be there for you; we'll help in whatever way we can."

Tucker chimed in, "We'll kick a little ghost butt, do some studying, kick more ghost butt, and get it all done in time for dinner!"

Danny smiled at his friends, but it was halfhearted at best. "Sounds good guys. Hopefully it'll all work out. If it doesn't, I don't know _what_ I'll do."

The three melded into the crowd of students leaving the assembly, moving on to the next part of the school day. Everything was perfectly normal and according to routine.

…for now.

* * *

_That was surprisingly fun. :) Hope you don't think that last line was too corny... I just couldn't resist. _

_I do tend to ship DxS, but also like DxV and a little DxP occasionally, depending. Not sure yet what this will wind up being, if anything. I'll be finding out along with the rest of you._

_I was originally going to cut this off at that break at the halfway point, but decided to include the assembly scene (partly because I really didn't feel like typing it out, so I figured I'd get it over with). _

_I know the show has been cancelled, and I know I'm not Cori or WoM or any of the other fantastic people, but seriously, I used to get at least a dozen reviews fairly quickly after posting a new chapter. I've also noticed that I tend to read things without reviewing unless they're exceptional, and ever since I noticed that a couple of weeks ago I've been trying to review everything, good or bad. So, that said, please let me know what you think! All reviews are welcome, especially constructive criticism! If you read this, whether you liked it or not, please take the time to let me know what you thought and why!_


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